This invention relates to an improved portable self-cleaning mirror apparatus and method.
Both manual and automatically driven reflective surfaces have been known in the art for quite some time. For example, hand-held mirrors made of a variety of reflective surfaces have been known since the earliest times and automatically driven mirrors, such as rear view mirrors on automobiles, are ordinary. These mirrors can be cleaned by cloth or sponge infrequently and as needed. Additionally there are known in the art much smaller more delicate mirrors that are used in the dental business which require frequent cleaning. A number of solutions have been attempted to solve the problem of keeping a dental mirror clean and operable throughout the course of dental treatment. For example, the Engel Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,991, utilizes water as the force to rotate a mirror so that centrifugal force causes water and other "flowable" material to be thrown from the surface. The King Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,637, uses an "electromagnetically driven motor" to rotate the mirror for the same purpose as the Engel Patent. Other solutions have been tried, such as the Holstad Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,987, which utilizes air directed from underneath the mirror to keep the material from coating the mirror and the Broussard Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,247, which utilizes a roll of reflective film that is simply rolled from one side to the other as the film becomes dirty. Finally, there is known in the art mechanical means, such as set forth in the Beck Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,973,541, which utilizes a mechanically operated blade, much like a hand operated windshield wiper, to clean the surface of the mirror as needed. A substantially motorized version of this idea is set forth in the Wisdom Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,912, which is connected by wires to an electrical source in the handle which is used to rotate a mirror beneath a wiper that extends from one side to the center of the mirror and no further.
In spite of these improvements, there still exists a need in the industry for a portable mirror that is self-cleaning and hygienic. In today's society, the introduction of possible deadly diseases into a persons' mouth during the process of attempting to help a person is no help at all. As a result, there is a need in the art for providing a mirror which is portable, disposable, and self-cleaning. It, therefore, is an object of this invention to provide an improved portable, self-cleaning mirror, wherein the housing that is introduced to the patient's mouth is disposable and whereby an independent portable motor is removably attachable to subsequent disposable housings.